Over 100 killed in China floods, landslides

BEIJING – Torrential rains battering central and southern China unleashed floods and landslides that killed more than 100 people, turning areas enduring drought just over a week ago into scenes of muddy destruction, local news reports said on Sunday.

Forecasters warned that intense rain was likely to keep striking some areas through Monday and beyond.

In Yueyang in Hunan province in the south, weather stations recorded more than 200 millimetres (eight inches) of rain in six hours, the kind of downpour that hits once every 300 years, the China News Service reported, citing local officials.

In Maojiazu Village in Yueyang, the pelting downpours triggered a mudslide that crushed 24 homes and killed at least 20 residents, with another seven missing under boulders and dense mud, most likely dead, the Xinhua news agency reported.

“The concentrated scope, intensity and short duration of these recent rains have caused grave casualties and damage to property in some areas,” said Chen Lei, the Minister of Water Resources who also oversees the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, according to a report on its website.

The office warned that heavy rains along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River basin could trigger floods in an area gripped by drought less than two weeks ago.

By late Saturday, the floods across parts of 13 provinces had killed 94 people with 78 missing, damaged 465,000 hectares (1,800 square miles) of crops, and toppled 27,100 houses and other buildings, the flood and drought office said.

By later on Sunday, Hunan province lifted the number of people killed by floods and mudslides there to 36, up from an estimate of 19 given on Saturday, meaning the updated nationwide death toll could have reached at least 111.

Some 23 of those deaths happened in Xianning in Hubei province of central China, where rains triggered mudslides that also injured more than 100 residents and left 10 missing.

The recent drought had “dried up the region’s soil, which has increased the risk of landslides during recent heavy rainfalls”, said Xinhua, citing a province government adviser.

But Maojiazu residents in Hunan also said unfettered mining had weakened hills that collapsed under the weight of the rain.

“If it wasn’t for the quarrying above the village, Maojiazu would not have suffered such a disaster,” said Yao Shifu, 71, according to the Beijing News.

There will be no let up in the flood risks yet.

The Chinese weather service said parts of Hunan province, and swathes of eastern China were likely to be hit by torrential rains over Sunday night and into Monday.